


Night Run

by Kinosei



Series: Iwatobi After Dark XD [1]
Category: Free!
Genre: Control, Dirty Talk, Domination, Light BDSM, M/M, Masturbation, Submission, Voyeurism, explicit - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-06
Updated: 2018-01-06
Packaged: 2019-02-28 17:37:23
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,459
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13276512
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kinosei/pseuds/Kinosei
Summary: In the anime, Haru let Rin push him around as he pleased and never complained, but was his obedience completely innocent?





	Night Run

1

Rin’s looks and voice might have changed, but his presence was still unmistakable. The same burning intensity and challenge in his eyes that first drew him to the boy four years ago. And now, as the dark figure slowly emerged from the dimly-lit hallway, Haru felt a short pang in his chest, as if the air had been suddenly knocked out of his lungs.

He could tell the other man had also recognized him, by the way he was staring directly back into his eyes. Haru’s feet were suddenly stuck to the floor, he moved his tongue around his mouth to gather some saliva.

“As late Granny used to say, burned wood is easy to catch fire.”

Funny this old saying should come to his mind now, because it meant you can never really get over your past crush, and that old flames were awfully easy to rekindle.

Only that he had never had a crush on Rin, quite on the contrary: the boy had been a sore loser and he remembered often feeling annoyed at the constant competition.

Destined rivals, might have been a better word. 

Now lying in his bed several hours later, he was thinking back to their encounter in the abandoned swim club.

Rin spoke, and his voice was deep and unfamiliar as it echoed through the spacious halls. Haru swallowed. The whole situation seemed surreal, he felt like there were just two of them suspended in the thick air. They exchanged some words he couldn’t quite recall. A moment later they were standing before the gaping hole of empty pool, ready to plunge in and race. Fast forward some more, and Rin pulled out their old trophy, a dull metal gleam in the dim light, and it fell on the tiled floor with a loud clanking sound. He saw him turn his back and leave.

He must have caught cold back there, because right now he was feeling feverish and queasy. He should have known better than to take off his clothes on a chilly April night. 

It’s been several hours since he’d parted ways with the boys and was back at his empty home. It was dark and quiet, both inside and outside. 

He lay with a blanket over his head, feeling as if the world was spinning around, rocking like a slight boat in the rough seas. It was not the same familiar and predictable world he remembered waking up to in the morning. No, this world was dangerous and unmapped, and he knew all too well it was better not to get up your hopes too high, or life would always find a way to slap you across the face.

Seeing Rin again today seemed to make an old stiff spot in his chest shift and start to fall apart. He wanted to fight someone, shout and tackle them to the ground. Wanted to swim fast, struggling with the water until his muscles gave out and his breath wheezed in and out of his lungs. 

He hugged himself and frowned, not knowing how to alleviate this pressure mounting up inside him.

He lay still, not asleep yet not quite awake, until the curtains turned a shade of red and birds started chirping outside.

2

Rin was back in Iwatobi. 

This simple fact had been occupying his thoughts for the last couple of days, making him replay on repeat every minute detail of their chance meeting in the old swim club. He had been taken off guard and missed the opportunity to talk to Rin. When did he come back? How long will he stay? Was he still mad at him?

Mad might actually be an understatement, by the looks of it Rin was furious in his cold and sarcastic way, probably still bitter over his loss three years ago.

It had been well into the winter break, and he was stunned to run into Rin just standing there, right across the black and yellow railway barrier. He had no idea Rin was back in Japan and was surprised speechless. Rin challenged him to a race and lost, nothing unusual. What was unusual though was his exaggerated reaction, as if Haru had unknowingly touched his sore spot and ruined for good the feeble connection that might have been between them.

Haru couldn’t concentrate on the classes today and kept staring out of the window. The sky was  bright and blue, with threads of wispy clouds radiating from a distant point in the sky, a sign of a big storm heading their way. None of it registered with him though, as his mind was trapped in the maze of gloomy passages of the abandoned Iwatobi club.

“The school is useless. Need to go back.”

He chewed on the pencil a bit.

“Tonight.”

The decision came easy and brought him clarity. As soon as the lunch break bell went off, he shoved his belongings into the bag and left, without saying a word to anyone.

3

It would be too reckless to try and sneak in during the day, especially after someone had seen them last time and notified the school. Besides, if by any chance he was to run into Rin again, he should aim for same time as before: after it got dark but before the last train.

Somehow, this plan seemed sane and logical in its own strange way.

It was a typical April night, warm enough not to wear a coat, but with a cool breeze rising from the sea. Haru changed into a pair of black jeans and a hoodie - come to think of it, it had been a really stupid idea to wear their school uniforms two days ago. That’s how a passerby, most probably, was able to tell they were from Iwatobi High.

Under ordinary circumstances, it was a twenty-minute walk from Haru’s home to the old swim club, but the path ran across a quiet residential neighborhood where everyone had known him since kindergarten. On second thought, it could have only been one of those wrinkled, always smiling old ladies that turned them in.

Not this time, he thought. 

He climbed all the way up to the small shrine on top of the hill; white stone foxes seemed to be in on his plan and were stretching their thin muzzles in approving smiles. He scurried down the other side through the stretch of woods too steep to build houses on, only crooked jizou statues looming here and there in the dark. 

Leaving the bay to his left, he pulled the cap of his hoodie up and hurried past the Fishery Cooperative and its humongous oil tanks, past a brightly-lit Lawson, took right at the road intersection and strolled down Route 155. 

The sidewalk was non-existent, road surface adjacent to the cement-reinforced side of the hill. But it was nearly desolate at this hour, so he didn’t need to worry much about an occasional car throwing light at him from behind, getting even and quickly brushing past with only a whoosh of tires. 

He was close. Another fifty meters, and the hill side would open onto the rusty revolving gate of a tiny public park, ghostly and deserted at this time. He swiftly crossed the park, passed the whimsical outlines of children’s playground, and arrived just outside the western side of the Iwatobi Swim Club.

No one has seen him. No one was around the building either. Haru nervously swallowed. The whole affair was giving him a rush of excitement not unlike the one before a race. He slowly walked up to the back door, palms clammy in his pockets. It was one thing to break and enter with the two friends of his, joking and hiding behind each other’s backs. And quite a different one to do it alone at night, at his own risk. 

It was so profoundly dark and quiet, as though he was the last person left in this little town. Darkness was a deep pocket in spacetime, off limits to things like precautions and rational thinking. If you were ever to get out, you’d better throw away common sense and kick your instincts into full gear.

Just do it. He turned the knob, and found out with relief that the door wasn’t locked, only blocked by something heavy from the inside. He pushed his way in and quietly pulled it closed behind himself.

The sky must have cleared up, because now he wasn’t surrounded by thick blackness anymore. Dust particles were flying around him in the eerie moonlight, broken cobwebs fluttering in the wind. He tentatively made several steps inside, crushing some glass shards under his soles.

Is this the right building? he wondered briefly. Something about it felt very different from two days ago, the place seemed more like a forgotten dungeon of some sorts now. Treading carefully, he went to check out the locker rooms, pool side and the reception area. 

The building was overwhelmingly empty and still. He was completely alone in here.

He must be patient and wait, he reasoned with himself. Give it a little time, let things unfold as they will. He slid to the floor, leaning against the lockers, closed his eyes and listened.

_The feeling was so familiar: slick coolness lifting him up and making his body almost weightless. Muffled screams and laughter, light and shadow dancing on the blue tiles, distorted by the never-ending ripples of the waves. Fingers enter the surface, an arm swiftly extends forward, sweeping down and backwards, retracting under his chest and toward the hip. His body rhythmically rolling side to side with each stroke. Breath in, two strokes on exhale, roll up a little higher to inhale again. Repeat._

Splash, splash, splash, clunk - what? 

No, it wasn’t water, it was the sound of someone lurking around, in a building that had been empty just moments ago. Haru quickly jolted awake to here and now. An irrational childish fear of _something_ in the dark washed over him like cold shower. He felt his intestines spasm and neck stiffen, his whole body paralyzed and unable to move.

The quiet footsteps were slowly getting closer, as if the intruder knew exactly where he was and was deliberately playing with him. Haru jumped to his feet, his body fully prepared to fight or flight. A tall dark silhouette appeared in the doorway and froze. It took him only a second to recognize the other man, and he felt the cold fear give way to nervous expectation.

“The hell are you doing here, Nanase?!” Rin’s voice sounded husky and pissed-off.

“Rin... I came to see you!”

“Yeah? Didn’t bring your support group today, huh?”

It was clear that tonight Rin was not in the mood for a friendly chat. Haru didn't come here to pick up a fight, but as he wasn't skillful enough with words to guide conversation to a safer ground, he simply asked:

“What’s your problem, Rin?”

Rin’s body suddenly sprung forward like a released spring, shoving him with clutter against the row of lockers behind. His face was twisted with some emotion Haru couldn’t recognize. He didn’t fight back, only stared defiantly into the other’s eyes.

“My problem is you!” Rin shrieked. “You think you are better than everyone else? Think you don’t even have to train and you can still beat me?!”

Rin’s hand gripped Haru’s throat, not hard enough to make it difficult to breath, but tight enough to make him feel uncomfortable. Red eyes were holding him to place faster than chains. 

Haru shivered, both from a distinct sense of danger radiating from Rin, as well as his own reactions. He was only half scared, the other part of him felt like he was being slowly sucked into a swamp of tingling anticipation. He felt  tempted to see what else he can make Rin do.

He licked his lips:

“So what are you going to do about it?”

“I’m gonna fucking beat you! Defeat you and make you kneel in front of me.”

It excited him to see how Rin’s control was slipping further and further away. For the first time in his life he felt the intoxication of absolute power over another living being. On the back of his mind he registered a hot weight sinking down his crotch, but wasn't prepared to acknowledge it just yet.

He had never played this strange game before, and wondered how far he is allowed to proceed.

“If I do, will you stop being mad at me?”

“What?!” Rin snapped, not understanding.

Haru pried the other’s hand off his neck and started slowly sagging down, face almost brushing against Rin’s chest and midriff. He felt light-headed and completely unrestrained, as though the rules of normal life didn’t apply here. His knees finally hit the cold floor, face level with the buckle of Rin’s belt. 

He glanced up and smirked.

Rin’s eyes went wide with shock. When he spoke, his voice was off and slurry, like that of a man overdosed on a tranquilizer:

“You’re out of your mind?”

The tension between them was getting unbearable. A thought flickered through Haru’s mind, that one more moment of _this_ , and they will be rolling around on the ground, growling and trying to tear each other’s throats in a primal urge for domination. And he realized, he was rather looking forward to it.

Suddenly a beam of white light broke in from the outside, momentarily blinding both of them.

“Who’s in there? Oi! Damn brats, you just wait for me!” An older man’s voice was spitting profanities, while he was noisily fumbling with the main entrance lock.

Rin jumped away as if burned, made several backward steps, turned around and surged for the back door. Haru followed him suit, knocking over random pieces of furniture on his way; everything was a blur. 

Once outside, he saw Rin grabbing a bike and pedaling away without as much as a glance back. The angry old man behind him was getting closer, and Haru sprinted into the darkness like he was running for his life. 

Across the park, through the revolving gate, up the empty street and past the convenience store, up the hill and then down the hill, to his house.

He jumped inside and quickly locked the door, breathing heavily and feeling like his heart was going to break through the ribcage. This was not how he was used to spending his nights. He glanced at the clock: it was quarter past midnight.

4

Today was Thursday, and they had decided to go swimsuit shopping, as a last attempt to cure Rei’s little “sinking problem”. If that didn’t work, then Rei might as well take out and dust off his old track pole. No matter how lenient everyone on the team were, the judges won’t look kindly on his bottom scrubbing technique.

It was afternoon on a weekday, so the suburb train was half empty, lazily swaying on the tracks as it made its way through the rice fields and god-forgotten tiny stations. Igumi, Shimohojo. He would be surprised if even half a person still lived there. Come to think of it, it'd be really cool to see a half of a person - say, the top or the left one - suddenly getting aboard, all transparent and flowy, just like in those horror movies.

He often had weird thoughts like this and didn't even bother to care anymore.

Makoto and Nagisa were joking about why Amakata-sensei could not join them on their trip to the mall, revisiting the old and juicy rumor that she used to model for men’s magazines. Turns out, someone even had back numbers they promised to bring to school.

Teachers these days, he thought. Nevertheless, it felt nice to forget for a time about all those confusing emotions Rin was making him feel, and just space out surrounded by his friends’ mindless conversation.

He’d been trying to figure out why Rin had unexpectedly reappeared in Iwatobi and what was behind his strange behavior. But reading Rin has never been an easy task. This was the boy who took them all by surprise four years ago when he announced his sudden leave for Australia.

It had put a blunt and nasty thorn in Haru’s chest, that had been stuck there since then. An anticipation of something beautiful that died before it had a chance to fully blossom.

Although they had seen each other once since that night at the old club - when Makoto and Nagisa had  dragged him out to swim in Samezuka’s pool - neither of them made an attempt to talk things out.

Were they still friends, or was Rin hating him now? He acted odd that night, and Haru himself wasn’t any better, as though deliberately urging him on. Was this what rivals are supposed to do? But Haru never cared about rankings and times before, so how then did Rin always manage to make him lose his cool?

As expected, the sports center wasn’t crowded this early in the afternoon, he could hear upbeat generic music and information on today’s hot deals broadcasted in a polite female voice. Once in the men’s swimwear section, Nagisa and Rei raced to the racks, excited to try everything on.

This boy is hopeless, Haru thought after seeing some of what Rei had chosen to wear. He firmly believed that those who disrespect the water shouldn’t be let anywhere near it.

Judging by the look of things, he will be stuck here for at least a couple of hours. He might as well try something on, just to pass the time. His eyes fell upon the familiar stripes of purple on black spandex and he couldn’t resist the urge to take the shorts off the rack. The pair was similar to what he had already owned but not exactly the same, and this was enough of a reason to enter the changing booth.

The cool material felt tight and smooth against his skin, and for a moment played a funny trick on him - suddenly he could almost sniff chlorine in the air and feel himself engulfed in the soothing mass of water. Besides, they held the undeniable attraction of a brand new thing, which always has such a detrimental effect on one’s willpower.

And this _was_ a pair of purple-on-black swimming jammers. Haru wasn’t attracted to a whole lot of things, but his loyalty towards the stuff he did like bordered on obsession.

The decision was already pretty clear in his mind, so asking for a second opinion was just a formality, but -

He suddenly found himself looking at a tall red-haired guy walking out of the adjacent stall.

“Haru!”

“Rin!”

A sense of deja vu descended over him, he had faced Rin like this before, the memory of being paralyzed by these eyes was too fresh. But now it was different. Being here and now, in a brightly lit room with people’s chatter around, somehow made their night encounter seem unreal. He wondered for a second if it all wasn’t his imagination after all.

Rin was first to break the awkward silence:

“Great! Let’s go out and talk.”

Haru followed the red-haired boy, his knees barely bending and heart pounding in his chest. What was Rin up to?

They went out through the side door and headed to a somewhat secluded place behind the vending machines. Once they were out of anyone’s earshot, Rin stopped and leaned onto the fence, looking down. Haru halted at a safe distance from him, not sure what to do.

“What have you been doing the past three years? It wasn’t the best you can do.”

Rin was referring to their race at Samezuka a week ago. He obviously intended to do the better-than-you talk again, but for some reason his voice came off almost wistful.

“Can’t beat someone who trained in Australia,” Haru replied.

“Are you trying to mock me?!”

It was amazing how he still possessed an unmatched ability to accelerate from _sad_ to _pissed-off_ in a matter of seconds.

Haru hadn’t really meant to be sarcastic, but his un-intoned manner of speech had often got him into trouble before. The last thing he wanted was to make fun of Rin though, not when he was looking so vulnerable and upset. What if trying to get things straight will end up in Rin leaving for good, just like that time three years ago? Maybe it was better to back off for the time being and let Rin’s temper cool down.

“Whatever,” he cut off and turned away to leave.

He hadn’t managed to make it too far when he heard the sound of rushed footsteps behind. A moment later he felt his back banging into the fence, its wire mesh creaking softly and pushing him back upright. Rin’s face was close, his hands grabbing the steel wires on both sides of Haru’s head. He could feel the faint smell of crushed grass and Rin’s sweat.

“You will swim for me. Understood?”

“I only swim free. You know it,” Haru said stubbornly.

Rin’s face twisted as if in pain.

“Why don’t you let me go?” he whispered.

“Aren’t you the one holding me now?”

“I can’t move on. Haven’t been, all this time.”

His words had an unexpected sting to them, yet Haru felt as if they were quenching some kind of thirst in him. As if a small and long neglected part of him has reared its head and was gulping those words greedily. He had been stuck on Rin too, sitting in a bathtub full of water and endlessly analyzing their past conversations, trying to make sense of it all.

“You are a pain,” Haru turned his face away. Rin was so hard to decipher.

He had cried when he had lost, he was still unhappy after he’d won. Could it be that he just enjoyed playing with Haru’s feelings?

Rin’s broad shoulders hovering over him brought back memories of that night when he felt a tight grip on his throat, a grim expression on Rin’s face left like a snapshot in his mind. Haru felt something in his chest painfully unfolding, and his face became hot. He wanted to do things to Rin too. He grabbed his forearm, it was thick and warm.

Rin gave him a questioning look, as if daring him to show what he’s got. You’d be surprised, Haru thought, how far I can go.

Suddenly a shrill adolescent voice cut through the electrified air:

“Gou-chan! Gouu-chaaan!”

There was a commotion and laughter behind the vending machines close by. Turned out their talk was not so private after all, and the whole Iwatobi High swim team was about to join them.

After a moment of surprise, Rin tsked, freed himself and walked away.

5

It had been several hours since their late lunch at a nearby family restaurant, and Haru was finally back home alone. He sat in the kitchen, not bothering to turn on the lights in spite of darkness starting to condense in the corners.

For the hundredth time he replayed in his mind his conversation with Rin earlier today. Being shoved into the fence, with Rin’s tense body almost pinning him down, felt dangerous and thrilling. And it left Haru with a nagging desire for something more. Not sexual, nothing like that. Maybe if they had got into a physical fight then and there, it would have provided some relief.

The wind was picking up and rustling the leaves outside. The weather forecast might have been right for once.

Suddenly the door bell rang. If it was Makoto, he didn’t want to see him now. Maybe if he just sat quiet, the other boy would think he was already in bed and go away.

“Nanase.”

The muffled voice was certainly not Makoto’ s. Haru’s nerves jumped, he felt a surge of adrenaline washing over his body. He got up and slid open the front door.

In the ominous flashes of the coming storm, Rin stood outside wearing his training clothes and a baseball hat. Without looking at Haru, he kicked off his trainers and stepped inside the house.

It was so dark that he couldn’t make out Rin’s face, not that he needed to. He realized he could feel the other boy with his whole body, maybe it was the warmth radiating from him, or his smell. That strong sensation of light-headedness and freedom assaulted him again.

“Rin... Why did you come?”

After a silence, the other boy uttered:

“We didn’t finish our little conversation today, did we?”

Haru tried to make sense of his words, but nothing was coming to his mind. He felt the tension between them growing by the second, and desperately tried to think of what to do next. The rain now started hammering down in earnest, locking them down for tonight.

“Can I get a towel?”

“Sure...”

Haru started upstairs, feeling his way up in the dark; Rin followed him closely behind.

Once in his room, he finally switched on a small desk lamp. Dirty yellow light formed a broken circle on the floor as it spilled down from the table; it was certainly not enough to light up the whole room. Rin slumped in the only chair, leaving Haru stand in the middle of the room.

“Why did you come?” he asked again.

Rin leaned back in the chair and crossed his arms behind his head. He seemed to be at ease and enjoying himself.

“Wanted to ask you something, Haru,” he let out a small laugh.

“What is it? If it’s about racing you at the competition, how many times do we have to talk about it?”

Rin smirked and his expression was unreadable. Haru felt very awkward standing in front of the other boy, like in one of those dreams where you are stark naked and everyone is pointing their finger at you. He walked over to his bed and sat on the edge.

Rin kept staring at him, and it was unnerving.

“Wanted to ask you, how you do it.”

“Do what?” Haru wasn’t sure he was following.

“You know what. When you are alone here in your room. Touching yourself, y’know.”

Haru forgot breathing for a moment and his cheeks blazed up with shame. What he had just heard was so obscene and unthinkable, that for a split second he doubted if he have heard it correct. But the way Rin was leering at him, openly dragging his eyes up and down Haru’s body, let him know he wasn’t mistaken.

Was this some twisted way to humiliate him and get even for all his past losses?

“I... I don’t,” Haru stuttered.

“C’mon, tell me! Or the rumors are true and the stoic Nanase gets it up only for the water in the pool?” Rin chuckled.

“No!” Haru snapped. “I do it.”

“Oh yeah? Care to tell me more?”

Rin’s husky voice and insinuating words fired up something inside him. It was not much different than competing in the pool. Only now they were sparring with words. Not exactly Haru’s strong point, though.

“Rin, why you... I...” he truly was at a loss.

“You do it lying on your back or facing down? C’mon, tell me.”

“I... don’t know - how...”

“It’s okay, Haru,” Rin’s tone was reassuring, his eyes wide open and intent. “You can show me instead.”

“S-show?” he must be hearing things, because Rin can’t be really saying this.

“Yeah, just pretend I’m not here. Do it like you usually do.”

Haru considered for a moment. The absurdity of the situation, this strange wound-up Rin in his room, the water gushing down the eaves and drumming at the windows, all these made it hard to concentrate and think clearly. Rins was challenging him, and he never backed off from a challenge before.

“I don’t touch it - usually,” Haru replied in a flat tone.

“W-what?!” this time it was Rin’s turn to be shocked. He sat on the edge of the chair, back straight and tense. “How then?”

“Don’t say anything. Don’t laugh,” he won’t lose to Rin in this game.

Haru got up and walked up to the dresser to pull out a small pillow, a cushion. He then proceeded to the door and locked it, a habit from when his parents still lived here. Not looking at the corner where Rin was seated, he got back to his bed, lay down facing the wall and hugged the pillow.

He tried to calm down and remember the last time he had done it. Right, it was the night when they broke into Samezuka swimming pool, and he raced Rin and lost to him.

That night Rin had grabbed him by the goggles and jerked him close, so that their faces almost bumped into each other. It was unexpected and made his body react in a strange way. Just an after-effect of all this adrenaline, he justified it to himself.

But part of him wouldn’t let go and kept demanding for something more. Not in a sexual way, of course. He just regretted not putting up a fight to test out how strong Rin’s grip really was.

He couldn’t sleep that night, the craving keeping him wide and awake. There was no explanation, all he knew is that he needed more physical contact, to feel skin on skin.

Haru flipped over on his stomach, burying his face in the creases of the woolen blanket. He pushed the pillow under himself and squeezed it tightly between his legs; it was firm and pressed back at his thighs and dick nicely. That’s right. He doesn’t have to touch himself. Now he can just start moving up and down slightly, rubbing himself in all the right places.

It would take more time than taking care of things by hand, but the pleasure was always more prolonged and intense.

Being watched by Rin must have messed up his head, because he was already feeling horny like never before. Each movement made something inside his stomach tense up with pleasure, and he was riding the pillow in tight little jabs. He picked up his tempo, rhythmically rolling and humping his hips away. Out of nowhere came a thought, if that was  what Rin had asked him to do? After all, he probably wasn’t much of a sight like this. Would Rin laugh at him for being lame and pathetic?

Just as he thought this, he felt a sudden weight settling on top of his hips, hot palms pressing into his back.

“Fuck, Haru! You fucking pervert!” Rin’s voice was thick and coarse. “I should have known you’d do something like this!”

The added weight was squashing his dick between his body and the pillow. Haru quietly gasped and shuddered. He started to feel the sweet and painful pull in his stomach and thighs, wanting to come.

“Move!” Rin commanded, grabbing his wrists and twisting them up roughly, all the way up to Haru’s shoulder blades.

The pain was mild but it proved to be  too much for him right now. Haru gritted his teeth and started jerking his hips in disorderly shallow thrusts, coming in his pants just a few seconds later.

The return to his senses was abrupt, and felt like falling face first on a hard concrete floor. But there was something else, a movement.

Haru turned his head to the side and saw Rin’s normally handsome face distorted into an ugly scowl. His hand was fisting his cock in a frenzy, swiftly shooting up in down with a flapping sound. A sickly smell of sweat and something else hang in the air. Soon he groaned and hunched over his hand, his breath coming out in short painful nn-s. Haru felt arousal starting to build up again, his chest flooded with something akin to tenderness for the other guy.

He drifted in and out of a shallow sleep, all the while being aware by the way how much mattress was sagging under him that he wasn’t alone in his bed. When the darkness began to grow thinner, there came a small nudge at his ribs.

Rin’s voice was reserved and sober, as if he hadn’t slept at all.

“You awake?”

“Yes.”

“Good. I’m off now.”

With this, he slid toward the bed’s end, seemingly avoiding contact with Haru, stepped on the floor and headed straight for the door. After several moments, Haru heard his faint footsteps thumping down the stairs, and the front door sliding open and closed.

There was still some time left before the sun fully rose, so he buried himself deeper into the sheets to feel the remnants of warmth until they eventually dissipated.


End file.
